Rotary machine of the blade type

ABSTRACT

A rotary machine of the blade type including a plurality of blades movably disposed in radial grooves formed in a rotor rotatably mounted in a casing eccentrically thereof and pailshaped airtight rotors mounted in a casing concentrically thereof on opposite sides of the rotor in enclosing relationship with the rotor and the blades, which rotor has discal members fixed to opposite sides thereof and being each formed with radial grooves for guiding and supporting the blades, and a high-pressure gas producing apparatus comprising a rotary air compressor of the blade type described.

United States Patent [151 3,640,648

Odawara 1 Feb. 8, 1972 [54] ROTARY MACHINE OF THE BLADE 2,447,961 8/1948 Rodway ..230/152 TYPE 2,672,282 3/1954 Novas ...230/152 2,960,075 11/1968 Phillips 123/16 1 lnventorr odawfirag Ueno Shl ba-cho, 3,074,387 1/1963 Geschwender .....91/l32 5 chome sakal-shl, Japan 3,186,384 6/1965 Fuhrmann ...103/136 [22] Filed: p 1 9 9 3,251,541 5/]966 Paschke .230/145 3,360,192 12/1967 Van Hees 230/152 [2]] Appl. No.: 817,374

Primary ExaminerC. J. Husar [30] Foreign Application Priority Data Anomeyflcmene &

Apr. 22, 1968 Japan ..43/26583 [57] ABSTRACT June 28, 1968 Japan ..43/44500 A rotary machine of the blade yp including a plurality of [52] U S Cl 418/133 blades movably disposed in radial grooves formed in a rotor [5|] 9/08 rotatably mounted in a casing eccentrically thereof and pail- [58] Fle'ld 36 136 shaped airtight rotors mounted in a casing concentrically thereof on opposite sides of the rotor in enclosing relationship 123/16 91/131 4l8/260 264 with the rotor and the blades, which rotor has discal members fixed to opposite sides thereof and being each formed with [56] Rem-em cued radial grooves for guiding and supporting the blades, and a n- STATES PATENTS high-pressure gas producing apparatus comprising a rotary air compressor of the blade type described. 630,693 8/1899 Hays et a1. 1,593,498 7/1926 Kiihn ..91/13l 8Claims, 23 Drawing Figures 1" I1 I3 15 I4 26 6 L 4 4' 4 7 lg lz PAIENIEBFEB 8:912 3.640.648

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ATTORNEY ROTARY MACHINE OF THE BLADE TYPE The present invention relates to rotary machines, and in particular the invention deals with to a rotary machine of the blade type in which a plurality of blades are movably disposed in radial grooves formed in a rotor rotatably mounted in a casing eccentrically thereof so that the volume of working chambers defined by said rotor, said blades and the inner surface of said casing may be varied as the rotor rotates.

In the rotary machine of the blade type described, it is known to mount an annular airtight rotor concentrically of the casing through antifriction means so that the forward ends of the blades may be brought into intimate contact with the inner peripheral surface of said airtight rotor to thereby provide an airtight seal between the formed ends of the blades and the casing and markedly reduce a relative sliding speed of the forward ends of the blades.

A proposal has been made by me to provide a sidewall at one side of said annular airtight rotor so that the airtight rotor may be pail shaped, with the blades and the rotor being mounted such that they are brought into intimate contact with the inner peripheral surface of the pail-shaped airtight rotor and the inner surface of the sidewall respectively so as to ensure that an airtight seal is provided between the forward ends and opposite sides of the blades and the casing.

A proposal has also been made by me to mount a pailshaped airtight rotor on opposite sides of the rotor respectively in enclosing relationship with the rotor and the blades so that the airtight rotors may be disposed symmetrically on the right and left sides of the rotor. This arrangement has made it possible to positively provide an airtight seal between the forward ends and the opposite sides of the blades and also to mount the blades by the agency of the sidewalls of the airtight rotors so as to maintain the forward ends of the blades in intimate contact with the inner peripheral surfaces of the airtight rotors without being affected by centrifugal forces.

In the rotary machine of the blade type described, the axial thrust of the airtight rotors subjected to the pressure in the working chambers is borne by the casing. The casing has to be sturdy in construction in order to withstand the force exerted thereon. A small clearance is provided between the airtight ro tors and the casing, and this small clearance must be maintained for preventing gas leak when the airtight rotors rotate relative to the casing. This also makes it necessary to provide a sturdy construction to the casing in order to prevent deformation thereof by the aforementioned thrust of the airtight rotors during operation that may interfere with the maintenance of the small clearance between the airtight rotors and the casing.

The present invention obviates the aforementioned disadvantage. Accordingly, an object of the invention is to provide a rotary machine of the blade type which is particularly adapted for operation under high pressure, such rotary machine comprising a rotor having two discal members which are fixed to opposite sides of the rotor so as to be surrounded by the airtight rotors and formed with radial grooves for supporting and guiding the blades. Another object of the invention is to provide a high-pressure gas producing apparatus which uses the aforementioned rotary machine of the blade type as a compressor.

Generally, a gas turbine and a jet engine produce a rotational force or a thrust by compressing air in a turbine compressor, mixing fuel with the air thus under compression, igniting the gas-fuel mixture to produce high-pressure combustion gas and directing this high-pressure combustion gas on to turbine vanes or ejecting same into the atmosphere while the high-pressure combustion gas is expanded.

In turbines using steam or combustion gas, power can be used effectively when the rate of rotation is high and the peripheral speed is also high. However, effective power is rapidly reduced as the peripheral speed is lowered, resulting in the turbines providing no effective power. Thus, the use of a turbine compressor is disadvantageous when the peripheral speed is below a certain level, although this type of compressor is adapted to compress air continuously.

Moreover, there are limits to the thrust produced by using turbine vanes, or propellers in a wider sense. Thrusting air by the force of rotation of propellers according to their pitch is nothing but stirring air with plates oriented in a given direction. The pressure provided by them is limited when their peripheral speed is high. A further increase in peripheral speed causes an exfoliation phenomenon to occur between the vanes and air, resulting in pronouncedly reduced efficiency of the engine. The maximum pressure provided by a conventional compressor used with a jet engine is no higher than about 5 kg./cm. It is thus evident that an increase in the efficiency of combustion and the amount of work is beyond the power of the conventional compressor.

When a turbine compressor is used as with ajet engine, the pressure on the outlet side of the turbine compressor soon reaches an upper limit when resistance is offered by an object in the ejection port of the jet engine. An attempt to increase pressure above the upper limit is invariably accompanied by the occurrence of a vacuum zone due to the exfoliation phenomenon and the stalling of aircraft. Moreover, air may flow through the turbine vanes in reverse direction depending on air pressure. More specifically, when the pressure of combustion gas in the combustion chamber exceeds the discharge pressure of the compressor, the combustion gas may leak through the inlet side of the compressor, with a result that the compressor fails to function properly. Therefore, the present practice in a jet propulsion engine provided with a gas turbine of the type having vanes requires combustion of a fuel-air mixture under pressure which is sufficiently high to prevent a reverse flow of air and compensation for reduced efficieney due to expansion of gas under low pressure by increasing the amount of air passing through the engine. The aforesaid disadvantages of the compressor of the type using vanes stem from the fact that the compressor is of nonclosed construction, or the compressor does not have sealed working chambers and the inlet port and the outlet port of the compressor are maintained in communication with each other at all times. The aforesaid disadvantages may be obviated by using a compressor of the positive displacement type which has sealed working chambers, for example a compressor of the reciprocating piston type or the rotary piston type. However, the compressors of the positive displacement type described are not suited for practical use because they discharge a small quantity of gas.

In order to obviate the aforesaid disadvantages of conventional compressors, I propose to use as a compressor of the positive displacement type the rotary machine of the blade type according to this invention which can discharge a large quantity of gas and operate continuously so that the efficieney and the amount of work of gas turbines and jet engines may be increased to the same level as that of internal combustion engines.

Additional objects as well as advantages and features of the present invention will become apparent from the description set forth hereinafter of preferred embodiments of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. I is a sectional view taken along the line l-I of FIG. 2 and showing one embodiment of the rotary machine of the blade type according to this invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line IIII of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a system of rotating parts comprising a rotary shaft, a rotor and discal members and mounting a plurality of blades therein, with certain parts being cutaway;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a modified form of the system of rotating parts shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a blade and parts associated therewith used in the system of rotating parts shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the plane VIVI of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing another modified form of a blade guide similar to that shown in FIGS. 5 and 6;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along the line VIII-VIII of FIG. 9 and showing another embodiment of the rotary machine of the blade type according to this invention which uses a plurality of telescopic blades;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along the line IX-IX of FIG. 8',

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary perspective view of a system of rotating parts including discal members of the form used in the embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 8 and 9;

FIG. 1 1 is a perspective view of a sliding member for sealing a blade guide groove of the embodiment in which the telescopic blades are used;

FIG. 12 is a sectional view of another embodiment of the rotary machine of the blade type according to this invention in which three telescopic blades are used;

FIG. 13 is a sectional view of another embodiment of the rotary machine of the blade type according to this invention in which two telescopic blades are used;

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of packing means mounted on the surface of the rotor;

FIG. 15 is a sectional view of another embodiment of the rotary machine of the blade type according to this invention in which the airtight rotors and the casing used differ in from from the airtight rotors and the casing used in other embodiments;

FIG. 16 is a sectional view of a high-pressure gas producing apparatus in which a rotary machine of the blade type according to this invention is used as a compressor;

FIG. 17 is a sectional view taken along the line XVIIXVII of FIG. 18 and showing another embodiment of the high-pressure gas producing apparatus;

FIG. 18 is a sectional view taken along the line XVIII XVIII of FIG. 17;

FIGS. 19 to 21 are sectional views of several examples of an auxiliary engine for operating the compressor of the high-pressure gas producing apparatus according to this invention;

FIG. 22 is a sectional view of another embodiment of the high-pressure gas producing apparatus according to this invention in which the rotary machine of the blade type operated by exhaust gas is used as an auxiliary engine for the compressor; and

FIG. 23 is a sectional view in explanation of the embodiment shown in FIG. 22.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, a rotor 2 and a shaft 3 to which said rotor 2 is firmly fixed are mounted in a casing l for rotation therein, said rotor 2 and said shaft 3 being eccentric with respect to the casing I. An airtight rotor 4 is mounted in the casing through an antifriction means and disposed for rotation between the rotor 2 and one sidewall of the casing l, and another airtight rotor 4 is mounted in the casing through the antifriction means 5 and disposed for rotation between the rotor 2 and the other sidewall of the casing 1, said airtight rotors 4 and 4 being concentric with respect to the casing 1. The airtight rotors 4 and 4 are rotated by frictional force as the rotor 2 rotates in the manner to be described below. A discal member 8 having a larger diameter than the rotor 2 is firmly fixed to one side of the rotor to be disposed between said one side of the rotor and the airtight rotor 4, and another discal member 8' of the same size as the discal member 8 is firmly fixed to the other side of the rotor 2 to be disposed between said other side of the rotor 2 and the airtight rotor 4. The rotor 2 is formed with a plurality of blade grooves as shown in FIG. 2 for blades to move in and out thereof radially of the rotor 2. The structural relationship is such that the airtight rotor 4 surrounds the discal member 8 and the airtight rotor 4 surrounds the discal member 8'. Each of the airtight rotors 4 and 4' is formed with an annular portion disposed inwardly of a main portion or sidewall portion of the airtight rotor 4 which annular portion is provided with an annular airtight seal portion on its inner peripheral edge.

The annular airtight seal portion 15 is maintained in intimate contact on its inner peripheral surface with a packing slide member 7 attached to the forward end of each blade 6 and on its axial end with a packing ring 25 or 25' mounted in the casing l. Spaces 9 are formed between the sidewall portion 911 and the annular portion 9b of the airtight rotor 4 and between the sidewall portion and the annular portion of the airtight rotor 4 respectively for housing the discal members 8 and 8 therein. The airtight rotors 4 and 4' rotate substantially at the same speed as the rotor 2 and hence the discal members 8 and 8'. However, there occurs a relative sliding motion of a slight degree between the airtight rotor 4 and the discal member 8 and between the airtight rotor 4' and the discal member 8'. This sliding motion which is a composite motion including a radial reciprocation sliding motion and a circumferential reciprocation sliding motion occurs in a locus which is substantially elliptic in shape. Each of the discal members 8 and 8 disposed in the spaces 9 is in intimate contact on its outer and inner surfaces with the inner surface of the sidewall portion 9a of the airtight rotor 4 or 4' and the outer surface of the annular portion 9!) of the airtight rotor 4 or 4'. Thus, the airtight rotors 4 and 4' are supported radially by the antifriction means 5 and axially by the discal members 8 and 8'. It will be appreciated that any thrust produced on the airtight rotors 4 and 4' by the explosion of an air-fuel mixture in the working chambers is borne by the discal members 8 and 8'.

A blade supporting shaft 36 is firmly fixed to the forward end of each of the blades 6 and supported at opposite ends thereof by blade guide members 11 adapted to move in sliding motion in radial grooves 13 formed in the discal members 8 and 8'. Each shaft 36 is surrounded by the packing slide member 7 in the majority of its peripheral portion.

The packing slide member 7 is provided on each shaft 36 in the manner described in order to prevent the packing slide member 7 from being pushed against the annular airtight seal portions 15 of the airtight rotors with too great a force caused by the centrifugal action during rotation. A plurality of axial grooves are formed in the surface of each packing slide member 7 which is in contact with the airtight rotors 4 and 4 for mounting packing strips 37 therein.

Each of the blade guide members 11 is formed with an recess for the shaft 36 and a radial groove 12 for receiving one side portion of the blade. A shaft 39 in alignment with the shaft 36 is mounted on the opposite side of each blade guide member 11. The shaft 36 and the shaft 39 are formed as separate members for preventing leak of gas under pressure from the working chambers. The shafts 36 and 39 may be formed integrally as a unit depending on the nature of the medium used. The shaft 39 mounted on opposite sides of a pair of blade guide members 11 extend through radial slots 14 formed in the discal members 8 and 8' and received through sliding members 42 in annular grooves 41 formed on the inner surfaces of the sidewall portions of the airtight rotors 4 and 4' concentrically of the casing 1. It will thus be evident that each blade 6 is supported, on one hand, by the airtight rotors 4 and 4' by the agency of the shafts 36 and 39 and received, on the other hand, in the radial guide grooves 13 in the discal members 8 and 8 by the agency of the blade guide members 11, and that this arrangement determines the position of the blades 6 radially of the airtight rotors 4 and 4' and the sliding motion of the blades 6 radially of the airtight rotors. Because of this arrangement, the forces to which the blades 6 are subjected by variations in volume of the working chambers are not exerted on blade grooves 10 formed in the rotor 2 but borne by the two discal members 8 and 8 through the blade guide members 11. Since the blade guide members 11 can move axially a small distance, thermal strain of the blade guide members can be prevented.

At the same time, this arrangement permits the blade guide members to be brought into pressing engagement with the discal members 8 and 8' by the forces of pressure in the working chambers so as to thereby provide an airtight seal to the slots 14. In order to ensure that the blade guide members 11 operate in the manner described, the circumferential width of each blade guide member 11 is larger than the width of each slot 14. Annular grooves 26 and 26' are formed in the portions of the casing 1 which are positioned against the annular airtight seal portions of the airtight rotors 4 and 4 respectively.

Annular packings 25 and 25' are mounted in the annular grooves 26 and 26' respectively. These annular packings are rectangular in section and annular receiving plates 24 and 24' of the same diameter are positioned between the back portion of the annular packings 25, 25 and the bottom of the annular grooves 26, 26. The annular grooves 26 and 26 are maintained in communication with each other by a plurality of holes spaced apart a suitable distance from one another and extending through the casing 1. Inserted in each of said holes 20 are pins 21 and 22'between which a compression spring 23 is mounted. The pins 21 and 22 are urged outwardly by the biasing force of the compression spring 23. It will be seen that the pins 21 and 22 press through the annular receiving plates 24 and 24 the annular packings 25 and 25 against the annular airtight seal portions 15 of the airtight rotors 4 and 4 with a uniform force. As can be clearly seen from FIG. 3, the pressure of a medium in the working chambers is applied to the blade guide members 11. Since the blade guide members move in sliding motion in the radial guide grooves 13 in the discal members 8 and 8 radially of the discal members, the blade guide members develop a high friction force because of the aforementioned pressure applied thereto. This frictional force has detrimental effect on the operation of the machine, causing reduced efficiency and wear of the parts. Modifications for eliminating or reducing said disadvantage are shown in FIGS. 46.

In FIG. 4, the discal members 8 and 8 are formed with column-shaped guide grooves 13 extending radially thereof. A part of each column-shaped groove is cut out and opens in the working chambers. The portion of each column-shaped guide groove 13 which is in contact with the rotor 2 is maintained in communication with each of the blade grooves 10 formed in the rotor 2 and which extends toward the shaft 3 to the same depth as the grooves 10. FIG. 5 shows column-shaped blade guide members 11 adapted to be received in the columnshaped guide grooves 13. As can be seen from FIG. 6, a part of each blade guide member 11 projects from the discal member 8 or 8 into the working chamber, the width of said projection as seen in the circumferential direction being equal to or larger than the width of the packing slide member 7. Portions of the opposing pair of column-shaped blade guide members 11 which are positioned in and above the packing slide member 7 and in face-to-face relation with each other form planar portions which are smooth and flat and permit the packing slide member 7 to rotate about the shaft 36. Each of said planar portions has a width which is equal to or slightly larger than the width of the packing slide member. The portion of each planar portion which lies above the packing slide member 7 is adapted to come into contact with the outer surface 911 of the annular portion of the airtight rotor 4 or 4'.

In the structure of the blade and parts associated thereto shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, a part of each blade guide member 11 is exposed to the medium in the working chamber. In cases where the medium is a gas which is accompanied by flames as is the case with an internal combustion engine, the blade guide members 1 I must have high thermal resistance. In order to obviate this problem, the blade guide members 11 may be embedded entirely in the discal member 8 or 8', as is shown in FIG. 7. In this case, it is advantageous to form in the discal members 8 and 8 radial grooves of the same width as the blades 6, said radial grooves being sealed by the blades when the latter move in sliding motion.

Generally, increasing the efficiency of a rotary machine of the blade type by increasing the amount of eccentricity of its rotor requires the arrangement in which blades are moved deeply into the rotor in sliding motion. This necessarily results in reduced strength of the rotor. Because of this, the rotor must have a large diameter so as to withstand centrifugal forces when the number of revolution of the machine is increased. Increasing the amount of eccentricity of the rotary machine of the blade type for increasing its efficiency has been hampered by the aforesaid fact. The aforementioned disadvantage of the conventional rotary machine of the blade type can be obviated by the present invention which provides a rotary machine of the blade type that may have a great amount of eccentricity by virtue of the structural features described above and the telescopic blade structure presently to be described.

In FIGS. 8 and 9, each blade 6 is made up of four blade sections 6a, 6b, 6c and 6d which slide one into another. The blade sections are formed such that the blade section 6a is solid but other blade sections 61), 6C and 6d are U-shaped in section so as to receive in the interior of the U-shaped space the blade section outwardly disposed. When the blade has a large axial length, the blade sections 617, 6c and 6d are formed with ribs 6b, 6c and 6d respectively which are disposed on the open side and facing outwardly. The ribs are provided for the purpose of preventing the blade sections from being bent sideways with respect to the longitudinal axis of the blade by forces of the pressure in the working chambers. In FIG. 9, recesses 16 are formed in the rotor 2. The recesses 16 serve as combustion chambers when the working medium is a combustion gas. The provision of the recesses 16 offers the advantage of reducing the weight of the rotor 2 and its centrifu gal forces.

As shown in FIG. 8, the axial lengths of the blade sections are such that 6a 6b 6c 6d. Provided on the surfaces of blade sections on which one blade section is brought into contact with another blade section are stoppers (not shown) which prevent each blade section from sliding out of another blade section when the blade is extended. Only the blade section 6a is received in the radial grooves 12 formed in the opposite blade guide members 11 slidably fitted in the radial guide grooves 13 formed in the discal members 8 and 8'. The radial grooves 13 are disposed in the discal member 8 or 8' and communicate with blade guide grooves 17 extending from the working chamber side. Said blade guide grooves 17 perform the function of guiding and supporting the end of each blade section, so that each blade guide groove 17 is made up of offset portions 17a, 17b, 17c and 17d disposed radially of the discal member 8 or 8' (FIG. 10). More specifically, the blade section 6a which is subjected to the pressure in the working chamber is supported against the peripheral force by the offset portions 17a, while the blade sections 6b, 6c and 6d are supported against the peripheral force by the offset portions 17b, 17c and 17d respectively. The sliding movements of the blade sections 6a, 6b, 6c and 6d radially of the discal members 8 and 8' are guided by the offset sections 17a, 17b, 17c and 17d respectively. The aforesaid supporting and guiding functions are also performed by the blade sections which are slidable one into another in telescopic motion. The blade sections 6a is supported by the walls of the radial grooves 13 through the blade guide members II with respect to the axial thrust to which it is subjected, while the blade sections 6b, 6c and 6d are supported by walls 17b, 17c and 17d (FIG. 10) respectively with respect to the axial thrust to which they are subjected.

As shown in FIG. 10, the blade grooves 17 formed in the discal members 8 and 8' are formed with offset portions 17a, 17b 17c and 17d. The blade grooves 17 must be sealed to prevent compressed gas in the working chambers from work ing its way into the spaces 9 in the airtight rotors 4 and 4' through the grooves 17. To attain the end, a slider 45 is firmly fixed to each blade guide member 11 as shown in FIG. 11 so that the slider 45 may be brought into intimate contact with each offset portion of the blade guide grooves 17. Moreover, the slider 45 is constructed such that it is brought into intimate contact with the surface 9a of the annular portion of the airtight rotor 4 or 4', it embraces the blade supporting shaft 36 in over half the circumferential portion thereof, and the portion thereof which is connected to the blade guide member 11 has the same thickness as the blade section 6a.

The embodiment of the rotary machine of the blade type shown in FIG. 12 is provided with three blades. The blade grooves formed in the rotor 2 maintain communication with each other in the center of the rotor 2, Spring bases 28 mounting springs 27 thereon are provided between the blade grooves 10, and a triangular receiving base 29 is provided in the center of the rotor 2. When one of the blades 6 is pushed and contracted so that its sections can slide one into another, the blade pushes one side of the triangular receiving base 29 and presses the same against the opposing spring base 28. The side of the triangular receiving base 29 disposed adjacent said one side and in face-to-face relation with another blade 6 that precedes said one blade 6 as seen in the direction of rotation pushes the bottom of said another blade which is being expanded, thereby preventing the bottom of said two blades from coming into contact with each other.

The spring bases 28 that are pushed by the triangular receiv ing base 29 perform, by virtue of their resilience, the function of aiding, through the triangular receiving base 29, the blade sections in moving out of one another when the blades are brought to an extended position. Another advantage offered by the provision of the spring bases 28 and the triangular receiving base 29 lies in the fact that the telescopic blades can be moved into the grooves 10 in a completely contracted state and that the blades in their contracted state move as a whole out of the grooves 10 and then brought to an extended position as the blade mounting shafts 26 move away, thereby preventing the bottoms of the blades from coming into contact with one another. The rotary machine illustrated is formed with an air intake port 18 and an exhaust port 19.

FIG. 13 shows another embodiment of the rotary machine of the blade type according to this invention which represents an improvement over the embodiment shown in FIG. 12. The machine illustrated in FIG. 13 is provided with two telescopic blades which are disposed such that they are spaced apart from each other by an angle of 180, with the blade grooves 10 in the rotor maintaining communication with each other.

The telescopic blades of this embodiment are each formed with two blade sections, with U-shaped blade sections of the blades being fixed in positions adjacent each other. Consequently, two U-shaped blade sections are guided by a unit by the blade grooves 17 formed in the discal members 8 and 8 and the grooves 10 in the rotor 2 in their sliding motion. By this arrangement, the number of blade sections making up each blade can be reduced with a relatively high contraction rate. This arrangement is, however, possible only when two telescopic blades are mounted in positions diametrically op posed to each other as illustrated in FIG. 13.

In the embodiments of the invention shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, a number of axially directed grooves 31 are formed on the surface of the rotor 2 as shown in detail in FIG. 14. A packing 32 is mounted in each of the axial grooves 31 such that it is urged radially as by the biasing force of a spring. A ring 33 of the same diameter as the rotor 2 is mounted in a portion of the rotor 2 so as to prevent the packings 32 from being dislodged of the rotor. The packings 32 are each formed with a cutout at the portion thereof which is in contact with the ring 33, so that the packings 32 stick slightly out of the surface of the rotor 2 when no pressure is applied to the rotor but the packings can yieldably be moved into the grooves when pressure is applied to the surface of the rotor.

The provision of the packing means 32 described above on the surface of the rotor offers the advantage of providing a perfect airtight seal to the rotor 2, the casing 1 and the annular airtight seal portions 15 of the airtight rotors 4 and 4 at a position where they are nearest one another as in the rotary machine of the blade type shown in FIG. 13. This results in the air intake port 18 and the exhaust port 19 being maintained independently of each other in airtight relation without commu- -nicating with each other. The packing means 32 can be mounted not only on the surface of the rotor 2 but also on the casing and the annular airtight seal portions of the airtight rotor at said position where they are nearest one another. This arrangement is conducive to increased air suction efficiency and scavenging efficiency when the embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 13 is used as an internal combustion engine. Preferably, the positions in which the air inlet port l8 and the exhaust port 19 are formed may vary depending on the kind of medium used.

When the rotary machine of the blade type is provided with telescopic blades and has a large amount of eccentricity as is the case with the embodiment shown in FIG. 8, the discal members mounted on opposite sides of the rotor 2 are of large dimensions and the casing and the airtight rotors have a large diameter accordingly. Portions of the spaces 9 in the airtight rotors 4 and 4 where the rotor 2 and the inner circumferential surface of easing 1 are near each other are filled with the discal members 8 and 8 at all times.

However, portions of the spaces 9 where the rotor and the inner circumferential surface of easing are remote from each other remain unfilled with the discal members 8 and 8'. In order to eliminate these dead spaces in the airtight rotor and thereby reduce the diameter of the casing and the rotor, a construction illustrated in FIG. 15 is recommended. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 15, the airtight rotors 4 and 4' are each formed in two pieces with the sidewall portion 4 M4 and this annular airtight seal portion 15 or 15. The sidewall portions 4 and 4' are rotatably supported by the casing I through antifriction means 5 and 5 respectively and the annular airtight portions 15 and 15 are rotatably supported by the casing through antifriction means 34 and 34' respectively. The antifriction means 5 and 5 are each formed with a thrust hearing portion for bearing the pressure in the working chamber which is applied through the shafts 39 to grooves 41 formed in the sidewall portions 4 and 4'. The outer peripheral surfaces of the sidewall portions 4 and 4' are disposed against the inner wall surfaces of the casing l in such a manner that the clearances between these surfaces are minimized. Leak prevention means, such as a labyrinth, may be provided on the outer peripheral surfaces of the sidewall portions 4 and 4'. As shown in the lower right part of FIG. 15, an opening may be formed in a portion of the casing 1 where the rotor 2 is near the inner circumferential surface of easing I so that the discal member 8' may extend out of the casing 1 through said opening. This arrangement permits to take out power from the discal member 8' as through a gear mounted on the periphery of the discal member or to supply power therefrom. This arrangement is advantageous in cases where the medium used is exothermic, because means for directly cooling the discal member can be mounted in the opening formed in the casing.

In the conventional rotary machine of the blade type, all the pressure of the medium in the working chambers applied to the blades are borne by the blade grooves formed in the rotor. It is impossible to increase the depth of the blade grooves beyond a certain limit in view of the necessity of maintaining the strength of the rotor. For this reason, the distance for the blades to move in and out of the blade grooves and accordingly the amount of eccentricity of the rotary machine have hitherto been limited. Also, the blades of the rotary machine of the blade type tend to forcibly open the upper portions of the walls of the blade grooves in the rotor when the blades under pressure are brought to a fully extended position. Prevention of this phenomenon makes it necessary to increase the length of the blades out of proportion to the amount of eccentricity of the rotor. This in turn makes it necessary to increase the depth of the blade grooves formed in the rotor, resulting in reduced strength of the rotor. If the diameter of the rotor is increased to obviate this disadvantage, the amount of eccentricity of the rotor is inevitably reduced. The aforesaid disadvantage of the conventional rotary machine of the blade type is obviated by the present invention which provides a rotary machine of the blade type in which the blades are supported by the grooves formed in the discal members so as to prevent forces from being exerted on the blade grooves formed in the rotor.

By virtue of the feature of the present invention of supporting the blades by the grooves formed in the discal members so as to prevent exertion of forces on the blade grooves formed in the rotor, the aforesaid disadvantage of conventional rotary machines of the blade type can be obviated and the blades can be formed in a plurality of blade sections arranged telescopically, In the rotary machine of the blade type according to this invention, the pressure in the working chambers is only applied to the outer circumferential surface of the rotor. The rigidity of the rotor is increased by the discal members disposed on opposite sides of the rotor. The use of telescopic blades permits to reduce the diameter of the rotor to a level at which it is substantially the same as the diameter of the rotary shaft, whereby the amount of eccentricity of the rotor and hence the compression ratio or the quantity of gas discharged can be increased. The fact that the discal members rotates at substantially the same speed as the airtight rotors enclosing the same permits to apply a sufficient amount of lubricant to spaces therebetween or to provide a perfect seal to said spaces.

Besides being used as an internal combustion engine, the rotary machine of the blade type according to this invention which is constructed as aforementioned is particularly useful as a machine which must be able to discharge a large quantity of high-pressure gas, for example a supercharger for internal combustion engines or a compressor for hovercraft, expansion engines, jet engines or the like. The application of the rotary machine of the blade type according to this invention as a high-pressure gas producing apparatus will now be explained.

In FIG. 16, a rotary air compressor of the blade type 52 constructed as described with reference to various embodiments of the invention is connected to a suction line 51. The rotary air compressor 52 is operated by an auxiliary engine 53. A pressure accumulation conduit 54 connected at one end to the rotary air compressor 52 for receiving therein compressed air supplied from the rotary air compressor is connected at the other end to a combustion line 55 through a guide screw 61. Fuel mixing means 56 is provided in the pressure accumulation conduit 54 for mixing fuel with compressed air in the pressure accumulating conduit 54. Mounted on the outlet side of the pressure accumulation conduit 54 or the side on which the conduit is connected to the combustion line 55 is a pressure control valve 57 which is normally closed by the biasing force of a control spring 60 which is mounted at one end in a fixed point 59 and at the other end to an operation lever 58 connected to the control valve 57. The control spring 60 may be replaced by other means which performs the same function. The pressure control valve 57 may be of any form because it is not heated excessively. The guide screw 61 mounted rearwardly of the pressure control valve 57 and connected to the combustion line 55 performs the function of causing the air'fuel mixture to move in swirling motion so that air and fuel may be well mixed.

A suction line 62 for the auxiliary engine 53 branches off from the pressure accumulation conduit 54 and fuel mixing means 63 for the auxiliary engine is mounted in the suction line 62. An exhaust line 64 of the auxiliary engine 53 opens in the combustion line 55. A bypass line 65 for supplying an airfuel mixture for combustion of exhausts connects the suction line 62 with the exhaust line 64. The rotary air compressor 52 is shown as comprising the rotor 2, rotary shaft 3 and blades 6.

The operation of the high-pressure gas producing apparatus constructed as shown in FIG. 16 will now be explained. The auxiliary engine 53 is started by a self-starting motor or other drive means to operate the rotary air compressor 52 directly connected to the auxiliary engine, which in turn causes the pressure of air in the pressure accumulation conduit 54 to increase. At this time, the pressure control valve 57 remains closed because of the biasing force of the control spring 60, so that compressed air in the pressure accumulation conduit 54 is supplied to the auxiliary engine 53 through the suction line 62. In the suction line 62, the compressed air is mixed with fuel supplied through the fuel mixing means 63 and the air-fuel mixture is ignited in the auxiliary engine 53. This results in the auxiliary engine 53 rotating by its own power. The rotary air compressor 52 which is not operated by the auxiliary engine 53 which is operating by its own power increases its rate of rotation, whereby the amount of compressed air discharged therefrom can be increased. This causes a further increase in the pressure of air in the pressure accumulation conduit 54. At this time, part of the air-fuel mixture supplied by the fuel mix ing means for the auxiliary engine flows through the bypass line 65 into the exhaust line 64 where it is mixed with exhausts and flows into the combustion line 55 while burning in flames.

A further increase in the rate of revolution of the auxiliary engine and the quantity of gas discharged by the rotary air compressor 52 results in a further increase in the pressure in the pressure accumulation conduit 54, causing the pressure control valve 57 to begin to open. As the quantity of gas discharged by the rotary air compressor 52 further increases, the degree of opening of the pressure control valve 57 increases. The pressure control valve 57 automatically increases the degree of opening thereof and becomes fully open when the quantity of gas discharged by the rotary air compressor is maximized and the pressure in the pressure accumulation conduit 54 reaches a predetermined maximum level. The air in the pressure accumulation conduit 54 is at a high temperature and under a high pressure at this time, so that the air-fuel mixture produced by supplying fuel through the fuel mixing means 56 into the pressure accumulation conduit 54 can readily be ignited and burned. This partly ignited air-fuel mixture is caused to move in swirling motion as it passes through the pressure control valve 57 and the guide screw 61 so that air and fuel may be well mixed. When this partly ignited, well mixed air-fuel mixture reaches the combustion line 55, perfect combustion of the gas-fuel mixture takes place as it is subjected to the flames from the exhaust line 64 of the auxiliary engine 53. At this time, flames in the combustion line 55 may flow backwardly a small distance to reach a point near the guide screw 61 but never through the guide screw and beyond the pressure control valve. This prevents the pressure accumu lation conduit 54 and the rotary blades of the compressor 52 from being exposed to high-temperature gas, thereby increasing the service life of these elements. The pressure of explosion in the combustion line 53 is ejected rightwardly therefrom in ajet stream and the back pressure in the pressure accumulation conduit 54 is increased thereby. Thus, the pressure in the pressure accumulation conduit 54 is further increased. As explained in detail hereinabove, the rotary air compressor 52 is of the positive displacement type, so that the compressed medium is prevented from moving into the rotary air compressor 52 in reverse flow.

As can be seen from FIG. 16, the rotor 2 and the blades 6 are convexed in shape. This offers the advantages of increasing flexural rigidity of the rotor and providing an increased output while using the discal members of relatively small diameter in a rotary air compressor of relatively large axial length.

An added advantage is that it is possible to increase the areas of the suction and exhaust ports provided in the casing which is also convexed in section. Alternatively, the rotor and the blades may be trapezoidal instead of convexed in shape.

FIGS. 17 and 18 show an example of the jet propulsion engine comprising a plurality of the high-pressure gas producing apparatus shown in FIG. 16, As shown, the rotary air compressors 52 are arranged equidistantly on a circle and the rotary shaft 3 of each compressor is connected at one end with the auxiliary engine 53 through a clutch 67 and a Vulcan hydraulic coupling 68 and at the other end with the rotary shafts of adjacent compressors through a gear 69 fixed to the rotary shaft and an intermediate gear 70. Each rotary air compressor 52 is provided with the pressure accumulation conduit 54, combustion line 55, fuel mixing means 56 and pressure control valve 57 as is the case with the rotary air compressor shown in FIG. 16. Each combustion line 55 opens at its discharge port in a main combustion chamber 80, with said discharge ports of the combustion lines 55 opening in said main combustion chamber being disposed on a circle. Each rotary air compressor 52 is provided with one auxiliary engine, 

1. A positive displacement rotary machine of the blade type comprising a casing, a rotor rotatably mounted in said casing eccentrically thereof, a plurality of blades mounted for movement in said rotor radially thereof so as to thereby vary the volume of the working chambers as said rotor rotates, a pair of discal members fixed to opposite sides of the rotor, each of said discal members being of greater diameter than the rotor and being formed with radial grooves for guiding and supporting the blades, a pair of annular airtight rotors each including a sidewall portion and an annular airtight portion, said airtight rotors being concentrically mounted at opposite sides of said casing through antifriction means, each of said airtight rotors being constructed and arranged so that the annular airtight portion thereof surrounds the periphery of its corresponding discal member.
 2. A rotary machine of the blade type as defined in claim 1, wherein said airtight rotors are each formed with a groove concentric with respect to the center of rotation thereof, and the blades are supported by means of shafts extending through the slots formed in said discal members and adapted to be received in said grooves formed in the airtight rotors, whereby the forward ends of the blades can forcibly be brought into close contact with said annular airtight portions of the airtight rotors and the inner circumferential surfaces of the casing.
 3. A rotary machine of the blade type as defined in claim 1, wherein blade guide members are mounted on opposite sides of each blade for movement in sliding motion in said radial blade guide grooves formed in the discal members.
 4. A rotary machine of the blade type as defined in claim 1, wherein each blade comprises a plurality of blade sections telescopically received one in another blade section.
 5. A rotary machine of the blade type as defined in claim 1, wherein each blade comprises a plurality of blade sections telescopically received one in another blade section, an airtight seal being provided to a portion at which the rotor is nearest to the casing.
 6. A rotary machine of the blade type as defined in claim 1, wherein said airtight rotors are each formed with a groove concentric with respect to the center of rotation thereof, and the blades are supported by means of shafts extending through slots formed in said discal members and adapted to be received in said grooves formed in the airtight rotors, whereby the forward ends of the blades can forcibly be brought into close contact with said annular airtight portions of the airtight rotors and the inner circumferential surfaces of the casing, each blade comprising a plurality of blade sections telescopically received one in another blade section.
 7. A rotary machine of the blade type as defined in claim 1, wherein the sidewall portion and the annular airtight portion of each of the airtight rotors are formed in two pieces independently of each other, said sidewall portion and said annular airtight portion holding one of said discal members therebetween and mounted on the casing through different antifriction means.
 8. A rotary machine of the blade type as defined in claim 1, wherein the sidewall portion and the annular airtight portion of each of the airtight rotors are formed in two pieces independently of each other, said sidewall portion and said annular airtight portion holding one of said discal members therebetween and mounted on the casing through different antifriction means, openings being formed in the caSing on the side thereof on which the rotor is eccentrically mounted for projecting the discal members therethrough, whereby power can be transmitted through the projecting discal members and the discal members can be cooled. 